To All You Dehydrated Moms: How Much Salt Do You Need to Stay Hydrated?

Water is wet, the sky is blue, and Moms typically have a to-do list that stretches a mile high. Moms are caretakers, house managers, business owners, accountants, and teachers who accomplish superhuman tasks, all while keeping up with self-care and exercise.

If your motherhood status quo equals running around at work, home, and the gym at lightning speed, then you know the importance of keeping your body hydrated. But, investigating electrolyte supplements that aid in quick and healthy rehydration might seem like one more thing to add to your to-do list.

With hundreds of products on the market—everything from the generic Orange Gatorade to influencer-endorsed and mineral-enriched Re-Lyte Hydration—how do you know which rehydration product is best for your body? And, who has the time to do all the research?

To help you out, we did the hard work for you. This post will provide an in-depth look at everything you need to know about healthy rehydration, including:

• Why are Americans dehydrated?
• Why do our bodies need and crave salt?
• Is all salt created equal?
• Is the amount of sodium in a product a useful metric for healthy rehydration?

Let’s dive right in, so you can quickly get an in-depth answer to your questions and then get back to doing what you do best.

Why Are Americans Dehydrated?

Rehydration is essential to sustain a healthy exercise schedule, but it’s also critical to understand that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated all the time. Let’s take a closer look at why Americans run dry, and what we can do about it.

Life is dehydrating. The average person needs around two liters of water a day to function. The reason? We lose that much water by breathing, sweating, and urinating. If you have a fast-paced lifestyle, chase kids around all day, and forget to replenish your water intake, your hydration levels suffer.

Not enough water in the diet. The body needs a fresh supply of water every single day. And, how much water you need depends on your body size, how much you are exercising, whether or not you’re breastfeeding, and several other factors. With a busy lifestyle and an abundance of non-water beverages at your fingertips, it’s easy to overlook how much water you need each day.

Alcohol and caffeine consumption. Alcohol and caffeine are diuretics and remove fluid from your blood through your renal system. If you drink alcohol and caffeine and forget to balance it with more water, the result is dehydration.

Consuming an acidic diet. You may have seen the bottled water industry's recent movement to sell alkaline or pH balanced water. There’s a reason for this push. The American diet is typically highly acidic and can easily upset your pH balance. The argument is that drinking alkalized water can help offset some of the acidity in the diet, helping the body achieve homeostasis, making it easier to stay hydrated.

Exercise. American moms are active. When you move more, you sweat more. Losing sweat is one of the primary ways the body eliminates water. If you sweat a lot, you’re at a higher risk of dehydration.

Mineral imbalance or deficiencies. Staying hydrated isn’t just about consuming water. It’s also about consuming the right minerals that are lost when we sweat, including sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium, to name a few. If you’re not consuming enough natural minerals through your salt and other supplements, it can cause hydration problems.

Now that you know the most common causes of dehydration, let’s talk about some quick and effective ways to improve hydration.

How Do You Improve Hydration?

If you’re one of the 75% of Americans who could use extra help with hydration, there are a few basic courses of action.

The first is to take a look at your diet. If your diet lacks an abundance of fruit and vegetables, it also may be lacking in water. Fruits and veggies are not only packed with nutrients, but they are also rich in water.

Another adjustment to make is to pay attention to how much water you drink in a day. Consider increasing your water consumption to at least 2 liters a day, and making any necessary adjustments based on your body weight, how much you exercise, and even your climate.

Finally, if you have problems with dehydration or lead an active lifestyle, it’s time to add a natural electrolyte supplement to your water containing high levels of minerals, especially sodium. To give you a better idea of why it’s essential to choose the right electrolyte supplement, let’s take a closer look at why sodium is critical for hydration.

Why Do Our Bodies Crave and Need Salt?

It’s true the body can’t live without water, but it’s also true that the body can’t survive without the mineral and electrolyte, sodium (aka salt). Sodium is an essential mineral, supporting some of the most critical body functions, including transmitting nerve impulses, contracting and relaxing muscle fibers, and maintaining a proper fluid balance, according to the brainiacs at Harvard.

When the body loses too much sodium, it leads to dehydration, unless you find a way to replenish the sodium in your body.

This is why sodium is the primary mineral included in nearly every electrolyte supplement on the market.

It’s also why when you’re severely dehydrated, doctors don’t just send you home with a gallon of water. They hook you up to a saline IV to help your body retain water.

Simply put, the body craves salt because it helps you function, maintain a proper electrolyte balance, and keep your body hydrated.

Is the Amount of Sodium in an Electrolyte Product a Useful Metric for Healthy Rehydration?

If you take a bottle of Gatorade and compare it to a serving of Re-Lyte, you’ll notice a significant difference in the amount of sodium.

Gatorade has around 270 mg of sodium, and Re-Lyte has 810 mg of sodium. (You’ll also notice that Gatorade contains modified food starch, sucralose, glycerol ester of rosin, and other yucky ingredients, but that’s a conversation for another day).

Is your initial reaction “Whoa!?! That’s a lot of sodium!” My first answer is Re-Lyte includes 810 mg of sodium in the product on purpose. Why? Because that’s typically the amount of sodium the average person needs to replace the depleted minerals and properly rehydrate after a workout, a night of too much wine, or a busy day of chasing kids.

But, the amount of sodium in a product isn’t actually the best metric for determining what makes a stellar electrolyte mix. A better metric is, what kind of sodium is in the electrolyte product? In other words, is the sodium chemical processed? Is it stripped of all its natural minerals? Do you know where the salt was sourced?

Re-Lyte doesn’t just settle for any sodium. Re-Lyte uses Redmond Real Salt—salt that is 100% natural, isn’t chemically processed, contains 60 other trace minerals, and includes proper measurements of other minerals (e.g., potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, etc.) that aid in absorption and recovery.

Takeaway

If you’ve recently purchased Re-Lyte, you know you’re getting the right amount of sodium and the right kind of sodium.

Re-Lyte is the perfect way for active moms to stay hydrated. It replaces your depleted minerals and helps your body function optimally, so you can continue to focus on being a kick-butt parent.